Orlando, Fla. - While the thousands of welding fume injury lawsuits that are pending in courts across the nation primarily say that the neurological damage suffered by welders' injuries is symptomatically similar to Parkinson's disease, attorney Michael Degan said at the 62nd annual GAWDA convention that plaintiffs' lawyers are attempting to make new arguments in court. However, said Degan, the new arguments may cause additional problems for the welding industry.

Plaintiffs' lawyers now are starting to argue that welding fumes cause "non-specific" neurological injuries. The lawyers are requesting that lawsuits be consolidated as "common issue" complaints - that is, complaints that are generally, rather than specifically, related.

Degan implied that plaintiffs' lawyers are attempting to make allegations in court that are more vague and, at the same time, more difficult to either prove or disprove. The concern is that, if a plaintiff's lawyer makes a vague claim, the welding industry would have to disprove that fuzzy issue in jurors' minds.

Additionally, Degan said plaintiffs' lawyers have asked judges to impose medical monitoring on welders that could go on for a period of years, with the hope that such monitoring would provide evidence of injuries caused by welding fumes. Such monitoring could impose huge costs on the industry.